Jeff Goldblum and Ariana Grande Met When She Was a Kid: See Their Adorable Photo
The Wicked stars go way, way back — and the actor provided photo proof on The Tonight Show.
Jeff Goldblum and Ariana Grande are two stars of the highly anticipated big screen adaptation of Wicked — but they crossed paths long before meeting again in the Land of Oz, the actor revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
From The Fly to Jurassic Park and Independence Day, Goldbum's been acting on the big screen for almost 50 years. He's also done his fair share of acting onstage — and that's where he originally met his future Wicked co-star Grande, back when she was just a kid.
Goldbum shared the adorable photo proof with Fallon on November 12.
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Kid Ariana Grande and Jeff Goldblum snapped a selfie in 2005
Back in 2005, when Goldblum was acting in The Pillowman on Broadway way nearly 20 years ago, Grande — who would make her own Broadway debut three years later in Thirteen: The Musical — came backstage to meet him.
That's where the two snapped the selfie, in which a tween Grande is absolutely beaming.
"You met Ariana Grande when she was a child," Jimmy Fallon said to Goldblum, setting up the reveal.
Goldblum, who plays the Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the film, said he'd had no idea about their first meeting when he met her on set.
"She told me this halfway through shooting [Wicked]. I was doing this play at the Booth Theatre, The Pillowman, and she, with her mom, Joan, came backstage," he said.
The Tonight Show Host shared the adorable pic of Golblum and a young Grande outside the stage door of the theater. A photo that could be captioned — ahem — "The Wizard and I."
Jeff Goldblum calls Wicked's Grande and Erivo "deeply gifted"
When the subject of Goldblum's Wicked co-stars Grande and Cynthia Erivo are brought up, he couldn't help but gush about how insanely talented the duo are, telling Fallon, "They're deeply gifted. I said, 'How did you get this way? What happened?'"
"Gifted, but they work. They've worked craft-wise for all these years. You know, 99 percent perspiration, 1 percent inspiration," he continued. "They were all devoted to this material, Stephen Schwartz's music."
To prepare for your upcoming journey to Oz, tune in for the new behind-the-scenes special, Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked.
The special airs on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, streaming next day on Peacock. Defying Gravity will feature the making of the movie musical — as well as a scene from the movie, which hits theaters on Friday, November 22.
